This collection of over 150 essays by many, many different authors, published in 2021, spans church history from its earliest days to the present. It includes a wide variety of viewpoints as to understanding and applying Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5-7 to our lives. What would these authors say in conversation to each other? Francis of Assisi, Elisabeth Elliot, Soren Kierkegaard, Leo Tolstoy, Augustine of Hippo, Dallas Willard, Francis Chan, Dietrich Bonhoffer, Mother Teresa, Gregory of Nyssa, Charles Spurgeon, N. T. Wright, C. S. Lewis, Clement of Alexandria, the authors of the Didache. How do we respond to their words to us?
The essays follow a division of Jesus’ sermon into four parts: Kingdom character; Kingdom commands; Kingdom devotion; and Kingdom priorities. Each of the 52 chapters include discussion questions, as the intention of the book is to stimulate discussion in weekly small groups. This makes sense since, although most of the authors speak authoritatively, they offer differing perspectives, so the reader(s) need to process the essays.
Charles Moore is a member of Bruderhof community. Per Wikipedia,
The Bruderhof (place of brothers) is an Anabaptist Christian movement that was founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold. The movement has communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Paraguay, and Australia. The Bruderhof practices believer's baptism, non-violence and peacemaking, common ownership, the proclamation of the gospel, and lifelong faithfulness in marriage. The Bruderhof is an intentional community as defined by the Fellowship for Intentional Community.
There are many well-known challenges to the interpretation and application of the Sermon on the Mount, and very many books. Jesus’ commands seem impossible. Only when fully under the anointing of the Holy Spirit could they be kept. The book concludes with Jesus’ admonition that anyone who does not build his or her life on His words is building a house on the sand, which will be destroyed in the storm. In effect, He has set an impossible standard for all but Mother Teresa. Even if we ask God to bless our enemies, and our heart isn’t fully in it, we are judged as hypocrites. How do we reconcile Jesus’ love and death on the cross to save us with His warnings that unless we do all of the impossible commands, we are headed for destruction? What He wants is all of us.
The challenge is practical living out of total devotion to Christ and His commands. The Bruderhof community holds all things in common. While generosity in obedience to God is straightforward in theory, holding all things in common only works for very small groups. Over 100 years of history demonstrate that socialism and communism are disasters in larger groups and at the national level. (One need read only a few chapters of Eat The Rich by P. J. O’Rourke.) Although this was practiced in the early church (mentioned only once, Acts 2:44), as the church grew beyond its initial nucleus, it was most likely the early church fathers’ recognition of the practical implications of this primitive communism that wisely prevented a broader implementation. A family usually has a common budget. But even small religious communes of previous centuries typically did not endure more than a generation or two. A small group of believers may choose to hold their earthly belongings in common, that is, taking a lifelong vow of poverty. As Jesus taught, this may be required for the sake of devotion to Him. But it is not required of everyone. Why are things this way? None of the selected essays in this book address this. Basil the Great, in his essay on Matthew 6:19-21, relates that we are accountable for how we handle the wealth entrusted to us, but a page later says that the money in your vaults belongs to the destitute. There is no context like that in Tim Keller’s Every Good Endeavor to put a balance into work and its fruit. Jesus points out that the issue is not one of economic theory but of human nature - greed and jealousy. Jesus warned against this multiple times (not to overlook Exodus 20:17 either). Jesus challenges us to protect our soul by eschewing avarice, but I doubt that He meant we must impoverish all mankind.
‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime’ is too trite (and it’s not in the Bible). Mother Teresa organized the feeding of millions of destitute. But lifting the destitute out of poverty requires more than simple giving. How can the government, with unlimited worldly resources, best aid the poor nations of the world? Has the Peace Corps significantly aided in lifting third world countries out of poverty? Does letting every able-bodied person in destitute countries move to the US help their nation? Are migrants improving their own lot in the world without concern for their souls or their nation of origin, or are they looking to engage in an economy that works rather than a dysfunctional failed state run by self-righteous collectivists claiming to do good? How can we help others to improve their lives without the ruin of their soul? This is an example of discussion that is missing. The essays in the book display the breadth across authors, religious tradition, and the centuries, but the integration of multiple viewpoints under the wisdom of the Holy Spirit requires contemplation and discussion. What is Jesus calling us to?
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